Helpless
by xXSarcasticNinjaXx
Summary: Helpless. That's all Azraleah feels as she watches her sister walk up to the stage after being reaped. That's all she feels as she watches the snob from One sleeping on her boyfriend's chest. That's all she feels as she watches the nest of deadly tracker jackers come crashing down on her sister and boyfriend. Helpless.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everybody! This is xXSarcasticNinjaXx, obviously. I have uploaded other stories before, but I deleted them because I didn't like them. I'm 99.9% sure I'm keeping this one. Hope you enjoy Helpless!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games, however much awesome that might be. Wouldn't it be strange to have Suzanne Collins writing fanfics on here? Just a thought.**

Chapter One

"Azra! Wait up!" A blond-haired boy broke into a run to catch up the the girl. He fell in step next to her and grabbed her hand. The brunette turned her blue-grey eyes onto the sweaty boy.

"Are you seriously sweating, Cato?" Azraleah teased. "I wasn't that far ahead of you. You need to start working out more."

Cato playfully shoved Azraleah to the side and she stumbled dramatically. "Cato!" she gasped as she righted herself. "How dare you push a lady?!"

Cato snorted. "You call yourself a lady?"

"True," Azraleah admitted, an evil smirk growing on her face. She snuck a glance at Cato. He was completely oblivious. Her smirk grew wider. "Because a lady wouldn't be able to do this."

Azraleah dropped her bag and, fast as lightning, kneed Cato where it hurts. He doubled over, clutching his stomach, and Azraleah slammed her entire body weight into his side, pushing him to the ground. She grabbed his wrists and pinned them to the ground, then pushed her knees into his calves, also locking them in place.

She stayed like that for a few moments, relishing the triumph of finally beating Cato.

"You got dust on me."

Azraleah glanced down at Cato, who was glaring daggers at her. She snickered.

"You're just mad that I beat you," she shot back.

Cato smirked like he just got a new idea. Uh oh. He leaned up and pressed his lips against hers. Azraleah's concentration slipped for a split-second, and in that split-second, Cato flipped her over onto her back and pinned her to the ground the same way she had pinned him. And the tables are turned.

"You are horrible," Azraleah spat, glaring at him. Cato smirked.

"You know you love me," he teased. Azraleah's gaze softened, and she lifted her head to kiss him. They stayed like that for several moments, kissing on the ground, until Cato pulled away from her, breathing heavily.

"I do love you," Azraleah replied softly.

He smiled and got off her, then offered her his hand. Azraleah debated whether or not to pull him down. _It would be kind of hard, seeing as he's pretty strong, and I might humiliate myself._ She decided to pass on this one.

She grabbed his calloused hand and he hoisted her to her feet. She dusted off her butt and picked up her bag, slinging it over her shoulder. They kept walking casually like wrestling in the middle of the road was completely normal. Which it was for them.

"By the way, to answer your earlier comment, I'm sweating because I had to fight Flint, Brogen, _and_ Thom in a row. But I won all three matches," Cato told her smugly. _And here comes the ego._

Azraleah rolled her eyes at his competitiveness. Then she smirked. "If you beat all three, that means I could beat all three. Since I beat you."

Cato considered reminding her of all the other times he'd beaten her, which was pretty much every time. He just decided to let it go. _Besides, Azraleah's happy._ He decided to just play along. "You are not going to let this go easily, are you?"

"Nope," Azraleah cheerfully replied, grinning widely.

The two walked along silently for a while. The silence wasn't the awkward-don't know what to say kind of silence, it was comfortable silence, although soon broken by Azraleah.

"Are you still planning on volunteering tomorrow?" she asked quietly, staring at the gravel. Cato tensed, and stopped walking.

"Look at me, Azra," he ordered softly. He cupped her cheeks in his palms and lifted her head so he could look into her eyes. Azraleahstill didn't meet his gaze.

"Come on, Azra," he coaxed. "Look at me." Hesitantly, Azraleah lifted her eyes to meet his. "I'm going to win these Games, I promise. When I come back, we'll get married, and live in a beautiful house in Victor's Village, you and me. Neither of us will have to work in the quarries, and we'll have the best life possible."

"That's if you win," Azraleah whispered, dropping her eyes again.

"Have a little faith in me, will ya?" Cato said teasingly, trying to lighten the mood and forcing a smile on his face. A corner of Azralea's mouth twitched, but her face quickly grew somber again.

"This is serious, Cato!" she cried. "There are 24 of you, and only one comes out alive!" She buried her face in the crook of his neck.. "I'd rather work in the quarries for the rest of my life than lose you." Cato didn't answer her, he just pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her tightly.

They stood in the middle of the path, hugging silently, with Azraleah occasionally stifling sobs. Even Cato felt tears burning in the back of his eyes, and he furiously blinked the tears away.

Azraleah finally pulled back. "I'm being ridiculous," she said firmly, as if telling herself that. "Of course you're going to win. No one else can beat you." She tried to sound confident for her boyfriend's sake.

Said boyfriend smiled. _  
_

"And when you come back, I will beat you," Azraleah added.

Cato raised his eyebrows and a smirk played on his lips.

"We'll see about that," was all he said.

"We sure will."

When Cato and Azraleah got to Azraleah's (father's) house in Victor's VIllage, Cato pecked Azraleah sweetly on the lips and whispered huskily, "See you tomorrow." Then he turned and jogged off.

Azraleah stayed standing on the porch long after Cato left. Her fingers reached up to ghost over her lips where Cato had given her a kiss.

Little did she know it would be her last.

* * *

Azraleah entered the kitchen and grabbed a shiny red apple from the glass bowl on the counter.

"Don't eat that!" her mother called just before she bit into the apple. Azraleah paused and glanced at her mother. "Dinner's almost ready." The blond put the apple back in the bowl.

"What's for dinner?" Azraleah asked, seating herself at the counter.

"Clam chowder and garlic bread," her mother replied. The toaster oven beeped, and she took the garlic bread out. Azraleah's eyes widened, and her mouth watered at the smell. Even in District 2, with a Hunger Games victor as a father, it was still uncommon to have this kind of food.

"I decided that we could spare a little extra money," Azraleah's mother said. "Since tomorrow is reaping day and all." Her voice dropped a little at the end of the sentence.

"Cato still planning on volunteering?" a new voice asked. Azraleah glanced behind her. Clove, her twin sister, was coming down the stairs.

"Yep," Azraleah answered, sighing. "I wish I could convince him not to volunteer. But he's dead set on it."

"Don't worry, Azra," Clove comforted her, placing a hand on Azraleah's shoulder. "If anyone's going to win, it's Cato."

"Thanks, Clover," Azraleah replied, smiling. "I know he's going to win. He'll be back within a matter of weeks."

"That's the spirit, Azra," a deeper voice sounded from the doorway. _Father._ "He'll be back before you know it."

"I love you guys," Azraleah told her family, smiling. Her mother, father, and sister beamed at her.

"Come on everyone, dinner's ready," Azraleah's mother said, leading them to the dining room. The sisters and their father sat themselves down at the long table and Azralea's mother ladled spoonfuls of steaming soup into their bowls.

"Thanks mother," Azraleah and Clove chorused, then glanced at each other at the exact same time.

"Jinx under the roof," they both said like little kids.

"You owe me," they said in unison. Then they both burst out laughing, while their parents gazed on in amusement.

"How I missed those days," Azraleah's mother commented nostalgically, sighing dramatically. "Times when we could do something childish like this and not get a roomful of stares."

The whole family busted up laughing at her ridiculous voice. Azraleah's stomach began to cramp from laughing so hard, and tears began to leak out of her eyes. She desperately tried to stop laughing, but everytime she started to calm down, she burst into another fit of giggles.

After about 3 minutes of laughing, Azraleah's mother finally said,"We should eat. Wouldn't want our food getting cold, would we?"

So Azraleah dug in.

* * *

That night, Azraleah stood on her balcony, chin resting in her hands, elbows propped up on the metal balcony rail, thinking.

_What if Cato doesn't win? No, don't think like that, Azra. But it's possible. Very possible. And what if Clove gets reaped? No, there are plenty of girls who want to comepete in the Games. Someone will volunteer._

Suddenly, something hit her.

_What about me? What if I'm reaped? Almost all the girls at the academy hate my guts because they're jealous that Cato's my boyfriend and I kicked their butts in training. Would they hate me enough to give up their chance of being in the Games to see me brutally murdered? I mean, I can fight, and pretty well, but I'm not the best. I wonder if Cato will still volunteer if I'm reaped. I think- hope he loves me enough not to._

"Azra?" Azraleah snapped out of my thoughts to see Clove standing on her balcony, which is right next to Azraleah's, with a concerned expression on her face. "Are you okay?"

"I'm alright," Azraleah reassured her. "Just thinking."

Clove raised her eyebrows.

"I'm serious Clove, I'm fine," Azraleah said. Clove still didn't look convinced, but she let it go. "If something's bothering you, you can always tell me, 'kay?"

Azraleah smiled and nodded.

"Okay then. 'Night, Azra."

"'Night, Clover." They went back inside their respective rooms and when Azralea got to her bed, she fell into a restless sleep.

**So, you like? I hope I didn't make Cato too OOC. It's just that in my story, he and Clove don't get along that well, but he was forced into the Hunger Games with her, so he just had to deal with it, but he's actually nice to people he does like. (Not that that's a lot of people) Please review if you like and please review if you don't! I'll accept criticism, just please no flames.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello again fellow crazy freaks! Okay well maybe not you but definitely me. And OMIGOSH you guys, FOUR reviews, FOUR favorites, and THREE followers for the first chapter?! That is so amazing everyone! Shout out to pogocrazy7, kirstybear, smilesandrainbows, and candyaddict5313! Thank you all so much! *virtually hugs everyone* This is a really big deal for me because on my last story (which I deleted), I only got about one review each chapter, and that was if I was lucky. Okay so anyway, Reaping Day is here and this is a really important chapter in this fanfic so hopefully I didn't do too much of a horrible job on it. I'm sorry I couldn't update sooner, I wasn't able to get on the computer on Monday or Tuesday because of homework, but Wednesdays are half-days at my school so I have more time. :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games, that right belongs to Suzanne Collins. She is amazing!**

Chapter Two

Azraleah slowly blinked her eyes, Sunlight streamed into the bedroom through the balcony. Azraleah groaned and pulled the covers over her head. _So warm...__  
_

"Azra, get up," a female voice called from the doorway. Azraleah ignored whoever it was and burrowed deeper into the blankets.

"It's Reaping Day," the voice whispered in her ear. Azraleah twitched in surprise. _When did you get so close? _It was probably Clove. Scratch that, it was Clove. Clove ulitmately beats all at walking silently. Still, Azraleah ignored her and pretended to be sleeping.

"I know you're awake, so don't even bother." _Dang it._

"Get up unless you want a bucket of water dumped on your head." Azraleah reluctantly climbed out of bed, glaring at Clove. She simply smirked back.

"Hurry up and get dressed you lazy sack of bones," Clove ordered teasingly. Azralea rolled her eyes playfully.

"Hold your horses, I'm going," she muttered.

Clove smirked. "Good." Then she left the room.

Azraleah sank back into her bed and snuggled back into the quickly cooling covers, trying to make them warm again.

The next thing she knew, three gallons of freezing, icy-cold water was dumped on her and soaking through the blankets. Azraleah let out a shriek and shot out of bed.

Clove was holding three empty buckets, a combination of a glare and a smirk plastered on her face. Soaking wet, Azraleah dragged herself to the bathroom, not saying a word Clove. She locked the door, stripped, and stepped into the shower.

After a long, warm shower, Azraleah got out, dried herself, and blow-dried her hair straight. When she came back to her room, Clove was gone. She stepped into her walk-in closet and gazed around at her many choices of dresses. Finally she decided on a simple but pretty cream spaghetti strap dress. She slipped on a pair of flats and headed downstairs.

"'Morning, Azra," her mother greeted her. Her father and Clove were already seated at the counter, gobbling down bacon and eggs.

"'Morning Mother, Father," Azraleah replied, taking a seat next to Clove. "'Morning Clove."

"'Morning Azra," her father and Clove chorused. Clove still had a hint of a smirk on her face. Azraleah did her best to ignore it.

Her mother filled Azraleah's plate with eggs and bacon. She ate quickly and ran back upstairs to brush her teeth.

"Let's go or we'll be late!" Azraleah's mother called. Blond hair flying, Azraleah raced down the stairs and the family left for the Reaping.

* * *

"Next," the Peacekeeper ordered in a monotone voice. Azraleah steeped forward and held out her hand. The Peacekeeper pricked her finger for a bit of blood, but Azraleah didn't flinch. In fact, no one flinched. Every child in District Two had grown up learing to fight and kill. The finger pricking felt like nothing.

"Go ahead," the Peacekeeper told Azraleah. She headed over to the girls' section, near the rest of the fourteen year-olds. Once she had establish a good place to stand where she could see the stage clearly, she glanced around for Cato.

"He's over there," Clove murmured in her ear, pointing to the sixteen year-old boys. Azraleah swiveled her head around and craned her neck to find him. It wasn't that hard, he was pretty tall. He glanced in their direction and shot them a wink.

"Arrogant jerk," Azraleah and Clove muttered at the same time. They smirked at each other.

When the Mayor of District Two and a few other important-looking people came out of the Justice Building, the crowd started the quiet down. It had been silent for a few moments when District Two's escort, Sharral Allegrade, walked on stage, heels clacking loudly on the ground.

Everything about this lady screamed 'Capitol!' This year she had on a bright yellow dress covered in bows, big and small. She also wore a blue headband with a HUGE blue bow on it. Her face was heavily powered white, and she had on bright purple lipstick and eye shadow. Extremely long, yellow-tipped, obviously fake eyelashes had been added to her eyes. Her heels had to be at least 5 feet tall.

"Welcome, welcome!" she said- or more like sang- out. "Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be _ever _in your favor." Azraleah rolled her eyes at the stupid motto.

"The odds are never in our favor," she muttered under her breath. Clove glanced at her but stayed silent.

"Now before we begin, we have a very special video brought to you directly from the Capitol!" Sharral clapped her hands excitedly and the video started.

"War. Terrible war..." President Snow's voice narrarated. Azraleah stared at the screen, but zoned out for pretty much the entire video.

Azraleah glanced at Cato. He was also looking at her. _Help, _he mouthed, then subtly faked dying of boredom by rolling his eyes back and sticking his tongue out the right side of his mouth. However much she tried to stop it, Azraleah felt the sides of her mouth twitch.

"-how we safeguard our future," President Snow finished. Azraleah's gaze snapped back to the stage.

"Now, the time has come to select one courageous young man and woman for the honor of represnting District Two in the 74th annual Hunger Games!" Sharral exclaimed in her annoying high-pitched voice. Azraleah tensed. The time had come. _Cato._

"As usual, ladies first." Sharral walked daintily over to one of the glass bowls. The crowd held their breaths as she sifted through the slips of paper and finally plucked one our and held it up. No one could volunteer until the name of the reaped tribute had been read aloud. She slowly opened the slip of paper and read the name out loud clearly.

"Clove Laurel!"

Azraleah blinked. _Clove Laurel. Clove Laurel. Clove Laurel. _The name rang in her head repeatedly, but never sinking in.

"Clove," she whispered as the realization dawned on her and she gazed into her sister's eyes.. Clove had masked her face with a look of confidence, but only Azraleah could see the panic and terror hiding beneath the smirk.

"Any volunteers?" Sharral called out, as there were almost always volunteers in District. Azraleah gazed wildly around at the girls around her. They were all wearing similar smirks.

_No, _Azraleah panicked. _It's because of me. They want revenge on me. There has to be someone who doesn't hate me enough to volunteer. _But no one spoke up.

"Come on up then, Clove," Sharral said, beckoning with her hand. Clove strolled up to the stage, her shoulders and body relaxed. But Azraleah knew her appearance was the exact opposite of the storm swirling around inside.

When Clove had made her way up to the stage, Sharral walked over to the other glass bowl filled with boys' names and snatched one off the very top.

"Brogen Reed!"

"I volunteer as tribute!" Cato's voice called out. Azraleah's jaw dropped. _But-but- Clove was picked! You're going to have to kill Clove! _she screamed at him in her head. But she was helpless to stop what was unfolding before her.

"Come on up, dear," Sharral said. Cato sauntered up to the stage, signature smirk in place. "What is your name?" Sharral asked, giving him the microphone.

"Cato Dixen," he answered confidently. Azraleah couldn't believe it. _Why couldn't he have just waited until next year?_

"Because he doesn't care enough," she growled under her breath.

* * *

"You have three minutes," the Peacekeeper said before exiting the room. Clove flung herself into Azraleah's arms and Azraleah clutched onto Clove like she would turn into dust any minute and blow away.

After a few moments of silent hugging, Azraleah's father spoke up. "Clove, we don't have much time." Azraleah and Clove broke away from each other, but Clove kept a death grip on Azraleah's hand, and she sent back a reassuring squeeze.

"Clove, this might not have been planned, but you are still deadly and dangerous, make sure not to let anyone forget that," her father ordered. "Make sure not to ignore the survival stations at the training center, you are already very experienced with weapons. You will need the survival skills the most if something happens to the supplies." Clove nodded, absorbing all the information.

"However, make sure to show off some of your skills to intimidate the other tributes," her mother added. "Make them scared of you." Azraleah's mother gathered Clove in a hug and kissed the top of her head. Clove buried her head in her mother's shoulder and clung on to her neck.

Then she turned to her father. He scooped her up in a huge bear hug and Azraleah thought she glimpsed a few actual tears glistening in Clove's eyes.

Clove turned back to Azraleah. "Cato," she whispered. They both knew what Clove was asking. Azraleah gripped Clove's shoulders firmly.

"DO NOT sacrifice yourself so he can come home, you hear?" she said forcefully. "You try your best to come home. Don't worry about him."

"What if it's down to the two of us?" Clove asked uncertainly. Azraleah was silent. _What if it's down to the two of them? Who do I want to come home the most? _Even Azraleah didn't know.

"Fight your hardest," was all she said.

The doors banged open. "It's time to go," the Peacekeeper ordered. Clove raced over to Azraleah and Azraleah squeezed her tightly. A few tears pricked at the back of her eyes, and Azraleah clenched her jaw to keep them at bay.

"Let's go." Azraleah's mother rested her hand on Azraleah's shoulder and gently squeezed it.

"Come on, hon," she murmured.

"No!" Azraleah screamed, reaching out for Clove. "NO!"

"It's okay Azra!" Clove called out as the Peacekeeper dragged Azraleah out. "I'm coming home!" That's all Azraleah could make out before the doors slammed shut.

"Don't touch me," she hissed at the Peacekeeper, shoving him away.

"I'll meet you in a few minutes," she called to her parents. They exchanged a look, then headed out of the Justice Building. Azraleah took a breath before walking over to Cato's room, ignoring the Peacekeeper comepletely. Her mood had changed in a matter of seconds, and she glared at the door before grabbing the doorknob.

She flung the door open and it banged loudly on the wall. Cato whirled around from his position at the windowsill and stepped forward.

"Azra-" he began.

"Shut up," Azraleah growled in a low, deadly tone. Cato snapped his mouth shut. "Why couldn't you have just waited one more (BEEPING) year?! It's not that big of a (BEEPING) deal!" (Insert several curse words of your choice.)

"Azra, let me explain," Cato pleaded, taking her hand in his and rubbing his thumb soothingly over the back of her hand.

"THERE'S NOTHING TO EXPLAIN!" Azraleah screamed, wrenching her hand roughly from his grasp.

"You're being unreasonable-"

"DON'T TELL ME I'M BEING UNREASONABLE!"

"I can protect Clove!"

"Yeah, and then kill her!"

Then something in Cato snapped.

"If you're just going to yell at me this whole time then please just leave." Cato's voice had turned cold and the warm, sea-blue eyes that Azraleah loved so much had became icy. Azraleah's jaw dropped open in shock, then burning rage fired up in her eyes.

_First he practically volunteers to kill my sister, and now he's telling me to leave?! _She struggled with words to suppress her fury, and finally managed out one thing.

"I hate you."

Then she grabbed the doorknob and flung the door open. Without looking back at Cato, she stormed out and slammed it in his face.

Only when the Peacekeepers had escorted her out of the Justice Building and she stepped out the front doors did Azraleah realize what she had just done. "NO!" she screamed, racing back the way she had came. Several Peacekeepers formed a wall between her and the Justice Building, and a few more pushed her back. "NO!" she screamed again, her hand reaching desperately for the door as she struggled against the Peacekeepers. "CATO!"

After a few moments of thrashing, Azraleah felt a cool hand on her shoulder. "Come on Azra," her father coaxed gently from behind her. "Let's go."

Azraleah took one last deperate look at the window of what she thought was Cato's room. No one appeared. A small tear slid down her cheek and she furiously wiped it away before turning to her father. "Okay, she whispered.

"It's okay, you'll see him again," her mother comforted her on the way home. Azraleah nodded numbly, but kept her eyes downcast. Both her parents were silent after that. Azraleah had almost forgotten about Clove in her fight with Cato. Her parents were also suffering; they were losing a child. Azralea slipped a hand into her mother's and father's hands, silently offering comfort. Her father squeezed it gently and smiled at her. She offered a tiny, sad smile back and all three were silent for the rest of the way home.

**Review? Please? Just type something in that little box down there, it doesn't have to be long or anything. It'll only take a minute.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three is here! Yay! BTW, I'd like to thank A.J. Lucason for reviewing Chapter One. I updated before I saw your review, so I didn't include you when I thanked my reviewers, so I'm thanking you now. I'm so so so so so sorry! :(**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games, Clove, or Cato and never will, which is sad. A girl can dream! I do own Azraleah though. :)**

Chapter Three

Azraleah walked slowly down the street toward the Academy, gaze fixed firmly on the ground. She lugged her sleeping bag and clothes around in a backpack, as everyone in the Academy would be staying overnight to watch the Games. Everyone had to be there in case something important happened during the night, which it usually did since Careers also go hunting at night. Other kids were milling around the entrance, but Azraleah just headed straight for the doors, head lowered. She made sure her hair hung in front of her face so that she wouldn't have to make eye contact. She through the gray hallways, toward the cafeteria, where everyone watched the Hunger Games every year. The Reaping would start in about half an hour.

Azraleah pushed through the doors that led to the cafeteria and glanced around for an empty seat. She decided on one at the very left side, about the fourth row. She took her seat and fixed her gaze on the black screen. The seats around her eventually began filling up, and the lights dimmed. The Seal of Panem appeared on the screen, soon followed by Caesar Flickerman and Claudius Templesmith, the hosts for the Hunger Games. This year, Caesar had dyed his hair blue, and, as always, looked ultimately ridiculous.

Caesar: Welcome to the 74th annual Hunger Games and may the odds be ever in your favor! Now, let's take a look at the Reapings, shall we?

District One's town square appeared on screen. All of the children were dressed in gorgeous dresses and dashing suits, as District One's industry was luxury and was the Capitol's lapdog. The escort pranced onstage and the Reaping began. This year, both the male and female tribute volunteered. The female's name was Glimmer, and Azraleah couldn't restrain herself from snorting. _Do her parents really hate her or what? She sounds like she's named after a Capitol person, and that's saying something! _For some reason Azraleah hated her already and she had only found out she existed two seconds ago. This "Glimmer" character had wavy flaxen blond hair and, Azraleah grudgingly admitted to herself, was stunningly beautiful.

The male tribute's name was Marvel. _Are you kidding me?! _Azraleah rolled her eyes at the ridiculous name. _I can just see the signs. "Vote for Marvel! He's marvelous!" _Azraleah snickered quietly at the pathetic slogan. _I'd say this Glimmer would make it to the final 15. _Pretty much every kid in District One trained for the Hunger Games, so they would probably make it past the bloodbath, but they wouldn't stand a chance against Cato or Clove.

A pangshot through Azraleah's chest when she thought of Cato. She gritted her teeth, clenched her jaw, and tried to focus on the Reapings.

Caesar: Well District One has offered up some mighty fine tributes this year, as always, don't you agree Claudius?

Claudius: Of course, those two definitely won't be short of sponsors.

After the District One Reapings, came District Two. Araleah leaned forward in her seat, gazing anxiously at the screen. _Hopefully my shock isn't too obvious._

Sharral pranced onstage and began her usual spiel. It took forever. Azraleah glared at the screen. It's like it was taunting her, not allowing her to see Clove's and Cato's faces until they were officially tributes.

Finally, the words everyone (Azraleah)'s been waiting for: "As usual, ladies first," Sharral trills through the screen.

"Clove Laurel."

"The camera zoomed in on Clove in the crowd. Fortunately, she still looked deadly, even though her was terrified. Unfortunately, the camera also captured Azraleah's clearly horrified look as she gazed desperately around at the other girls. Out of the corner of her eye, she could make out several of the same faces smirking the same smirks at her._  
_

As Clove mounted the stage, Azraleah fixed her gaze on Clove, trying to memorize every feature of hers. _From now on, _she swore, _I will treasure every moment Clove is alive._

Next, Azraleah realized forebodingly, was Cato. Sharral strolled over to the glass bowl and plucked the slip out. Azraleah could feel the stares of several people burning into her, and she forced herself to maintain a blank stare and ignore everyone, resisting the urge to turn and glare at them.

"Brogen Reed!"

"I volunteer as tribute!" The camera zoomed in on Cato's smirking face, and Azraleah's heart clenched at seeing him.

Clove and Cato shook hands and as they were led into the Justice Building, Azraleah stared fiercely at the back of their heads, as if it could bring them back.

Caesar Flickerman and Claudius Templesmith appeared back on the screen.

Caesar: My, my, we've got some stiff competition from District Two this year, don't we Claudius?

Claudius: Those tributes are going to be hard to beat. But then again, this is District Two we're talking about. It's to be expected.

Caesar: Naturally. Watch out for these tributes in the arena! Now, onto District Three...

Districts Three and Four were nothing special. The female from District Five, though, had a sly look to her eyes. Her hair was flaming bright red and she had cool blue eyes. Azraleah wouldn't trust her in the arena one bit. She renamed this "Finch" girl Foxy in her head. _She'll probably make it to the final ten, _Azralea predicted. _She seems pretty clever._

Districts Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, and Ten's tributes would never stand a chance. The fact was, they were all weaklings, however sad it might be.

District Eleven's tributes stood out a bit to Azraleah. They were polar opposites, not counting the dark skin that everyone is District Eleven had. The male tribute, Thresh was his name, was tall and looked very strong. He looked like he might even make it to the final five. Azraleah knew for sure that he would be one of the biggest competition. Thresh would definitely be a good candidate for the Career alliance.

The female tribute, Rue, made Azraleah's heart melt. She had some-what short, frizzy, black hair and wide, doe-eyes. This definitely had to be her first Reaping, and she looked so scared and innocent that it made Azraleah's heart clench in sadness. She would not fancy seeing Rue die. But, Azraleah knew, everyone had to die if Clove or Cato were to come home.

Surprisingly, District Twelve had the least boring Reaping this year.

"Primrose Everdeen!" the, as always, ridiculous looking escort called out. As a little blond girl shuffled slowly through the crowd, an older girl with dark brown hair lunged forward.

"PRIM!"

Primrose whirled around and a few Peacekeepers stepped in front of the older girl, who Azraleah figured to be her sister, to hold her back. The sister struggled against the Peacekeepers, but they were beginning to drive her back.

"I VOLUNTEER!" the sister screamed. She broke through the Peacekeepers and stared defiantly at the cameras. "I volunteer as tribute," she repeated, calmer this time.

The girl raced forward and grabbed Primrose, talking quietly but urgently to her. A tall, dark-haired, olive-skinned boy made his way through the crowd. he picked up Primrose and carried her away. Primrose yelled and screamed for her sister, tears streaking rapidly down her face. The boy, Azraleah figured, was probably a family friend.

When the older girl came up to the stage, Azraleah found out her name was Katniss. Azraleah guessed correctly; the escort confirmed that Katniss was Primrose's sister.

The boy tribute was a stocky blond boy named Peeta Mellark. He was the typical plain, boring District Twelve tribute, although he did look strong, but nothing compared to Cato or Thresh.

As District Twelve disappeared, Flickerman and Templesmith came up again. Azraleah glared at them, wanting to chuck a plate at their stupid faces.

Caesar: District Twelve's very first volunteer! Isn't this exciting, Claudius?

Claudius: Why it certainly is! And to think, it took 74 years for someone from District Twelve to finally volunteer!

Caesar: We'll see how well Ms. Katniss Everdeen fares in the Games! And those are our tributes for the 74th annual Hunger Games! Happy Hunger Games and may the odds be ever in your favor!

The Seal of Panem glowed on the screen again before disappearing and the screen turning to black. Someone turned the lights on, andeveryone began dispersing to their individual classes. Azraleah headed over to the Aspen League class, the highest class in the Academy. The head trainer for the Aspen League was called Gaviner Naysmith, and he was the meanest, cruelest, most horrible person in the history of Panem. Once, when a student had to miss a day of training because she had pneumonia, when she came back the next day Gaviner made her run three miles in less than five minutes. When the student made it in about six minutes, Gaviner made her run another two miles. Azraleah hated him with all her heart. There was no way anyway anyone could hate him more than she could. The student that Gaviner tortured was Clove. He was standing at the head of the group, and after he double checked to see that everyone was there, he led us all down the hall way to the Aspen League training room. All the other different levels shared a training room, but the Aspen Leaguers had our very own training room. The tributes that usually entered the Games were always from the Aspen League. Cato and Clove had both been part of the Aspen League with Azraleah.

All the tributes gathered at the classroom part of the training room, which was basically a section of the training room with tables for studying the history of Panem and the previous Hunger Games.

"Okay everyone, let's start!" Gaviner barked. "Predicted victor? Ms. Whishart!"

"Male from 2," Delphi (Whishart) answered confidently.

"Threats? Mr. Dunbryll!"

"Male from 1, male from 11, female from 5," Fallstreak (Dunbryll) replied. Gaviner nodded and glanced (or glared) around at everyone.

"Anyone else?"

Azraleah tuned out for a long while, all the way until the end of class. The sound of everyone getting up snapped her out of her trance and she hurriedly got to her feet and followed everyone out of the training room.

* * *

At noon, Azraleah ate lunch alone. Usually she would eat with Clove and/or Cato, but obviously they were gone, so she would have to make do by herself. As she ate, she gazed around at everyone else. They were all talking and laughing with their friends in big groups, and Azraleah felt a pang of jealousy. _Why do I have to be so socially awkward? _But she didn't dare go over and ask to sit with them. That would just be plain pathetic. So instead, she ate by herself. _I don't need them anyway._

During the afternoon, everyone trained. After all, the Games hadn't started yet, so it would be plain time-wasting to watch the tv 24/7. But when the Games did start, everyone would be watching the tv 24/7. Literally. But the afternoons before the Games were filled with training, training, and... training. It was how it was every other day, during the Games everyone would just stop training to watch them. When everyone in the Academy weren't watching things like Reapings and the parade and the interviews, they would train.

Azraleah grabbed a knife and flipped it over in her hand, calculating how much force would be needed to throw it, depending on the weight and shape. She turned to face the targets, knife in hand, and flicked her wrist, sending the knife deeply embedded in the dummy's heart.

She kept flinging more knives at targets at rapid-fire speed, until there were no more knives left at the station. She paused, chest and shoulders heaving, before heading over to take the knives out of the dummies. Like Clove, she had a love for throwing knives and was almost as good as her sister at it. But that's almost. Not quite.

After an afternoon of throwing knives, hand-to-hand combat, and spear-throwing, Azraleah collapsed into her sleeping bag and tried to fall asleep, which was hard as they were all lying on hard ground. Eventually, Azraleah was lulled into the peaceful oblivion of sleep.

**Yeah this chapter was kinda boring, not****exactly my best. It was more of a filler chapter, so the other chapters will be much more interesting. I really don't like writing filler chapters. Sorry guys...**

**I'm gonna be gone for about a week because I'm going on vacation, and we won't be in one place for a long time, so we won't have internet connection. I'll try to write in my notebook though. Just don't expect an update for about a week.**


	4. Chapter 4

**I. Am. Back! Yay! I'm sure you guys missed me greatly. Or you just wanted the next chapter. Most likely the latter. Oh well. I'll just pretend that you guys missed me. I missed you too.**

**So far I have nine reviews for this story. Seven for Chapter One, four for Chapter Two, and two for Chapter Three. Come on you guys. _Two_reviews for the last chapter? It wasn't that bad, was it? :( I hope this chapter was better.**

**BTW, I'd like to give the shoutout for Chapter Two in this chapter too. I completely forgot. So thanks to pogocrazy7, A.J. Lucason, smilesandrainbows, and gkmoberg1 for reviewing Chapter Two. Thanks to Araisen and gkmoberg1 for reviewing Chapter Three! I promise I'll try not to forget the shoutouts and the disclaimers.**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own the Hunger Games.**

Chapter Four

Caesar: Over one thousand people craning to get a glimpse of this year's tributes. And the sponsors get to see the tributes for the first time. The importance of this moment cannot be overstated.

The first tributes came into sight, rolling out of the entrance, pulled by majestic black horses. In the first chariot was the District One tributes, Glimmer and Marvel. They were decked out in hot pink outfits, and Azraleah smirked at how uncomfortable Marvel looked. Glimmer was wearing a huge pink feather headdress and Marvel had a pink feather boa across his shoulders. Marvel's outfit was covered in silver sequins, and Glimmer's dress was covered in pink ones. Glimmer looked gorgeous, and even Marvel was managing to make people like him, despite the pink.

Behind them was Cato and Clove. Azraleah's breath caught in her throat as they came into view. This year, the stylists had dressed them in ancient Roman gladiator costumes, with golden wings on their metal headdresses. The chestplates were covered in golden scales, as well as the wings. The tops were sleeveless, showing off Cato's bulging muscles, which made the Capitol women scream in delight. Azraleah let out a small, almost inaudible growl under her breath._  
_

District Three were dressed in some sort of silver mesh, with silver headdresses that represented electronics. District Five were in sparkly silver costumes with a sequined satallite around their heads. District Six had a cresent-moon shaped headpiece that curved around their faces.

Claudius: There they are, there they are! This year's tributes.

Caesar: Isn't this exciting? Hahaha, it just looks exciting.

District Seven's costumes were made out of paper fans, as District Seven's industry was lumber. District Eight's oufits were made out of blue and pink fabric, which Azraleah thought was totally ridiculous. _The stylists could have at least tried for colors that looked good together. _

Claudius: It just gives you goosebumps.

Caesar: And don't you love how the stylists, they so clearly are able to reflect the character of each district.

District Nine were in gold and silver studded outfits, which Azraleah didn't understand at all. _What does that have anything to do with grain?_ District Ten had on cowboy/cowgirl costumes, which Azraleah admitted, was pretty smart.

Claudius: Right, right, there's District Four!

District Four had on blue gowns and headdresses made out of what looked like blue coral with pearls.

Caesar: Fishing, I get it. I like it.

Claudius: That's very good.

Caesar: And behind them, we have two power plant workers, right?

District Eleven were in typical jean overalls and had silver headpieces with decorations that looked like grain. _Looks like the District Eleven stylists took the easy way out this year. But they could have at least tried._

Caesar: And then... What is that background?

As District Twelve's chariot came rolling out, Capitol people started standing up and screamed even louder than they already were. The camera zoomed in on District Twelve and as Azraleah looked closer, she realized that District Twelve were on fire! They had on jet-black coal suits, but what really captured the crowd was the fire streaming out behind them. _How are they not burning up? _The tributes were beautiful, even though Katniss had on a stone cold face. Suddenly, the male tribute, who's name Azraleah hadn't even bothered to memorize, grabbed Katniss's hand. She wrenched it away, and the male whispered something to her. She looked reluctant, but when the male grabbed her hand again, she didn't pull away. They lifted their hands up, and the crowd went wild._  
_

Caesar: Now see that? I love that! Two young people, holding their hands up, saying I'm proud I come from District 12, we will not be overlooked! Now I love that!

Claudius: People are sure going to be paying attention to them right now!

Azraleah glared at the screen. _WHY does District Twelve have to get their acts together on the exact year Clove and Cato are tributes?! There go all the sponsors._

The chariots came to a stop in front of the balcony that President Snow would be giving his annual speech. Not long after, President Snow appeared on the balcony. Naturally, he gave his usual "Welcome, Happy Hunger Games, may the odds be ever in your favor" spiel. The chariots rolled out of sight, and after the screen turned dark, there was an uproar in the cafeteria.

"So District Twelve finally decides to actually try with the parade costumes!"

"Cato and Clove can still beat those scrawny pathetic losers!"

"There won't be any sponsors for District Two now. I'd be surprised if Cato or Clove even get an apple now!"

But Azraleah didn't hear any of this. Her ears were ringing with the cheers of the crowd, the cheers for the pathetic, stupid, losers from District Twelve. She felt nothing but fury. Fury at the District Twelve stylists. Fury at the District Twelve male for getting the idea of raising their hands up. Fury. Fury. Worry.

_What if something happens to the Careers' supplies? Cato eats like a wolf, he won't make it three days without food. With all the sponsors' attention on Twelve, they won't even bother with Cato and Clove. If they want Twelve to win, which most of them probably do, Cato and Clove won't stand a chance._

* * *

******(I've decided to start doing POVs instead of third person because third person is no fun. So here goes.) **Azraleah's POV 

I can't believe Sparkles' dress. It's a gold dress. Can't see what's wrong with it, right? Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot to mention it's a _see through _gold dress. I definitely can't guess what her angle is.

"Glimmer, are you prepared?" Caesar asks.

"Yes, Caesar, I am _very _prepared," Glimmer replied, flashing a dazzling smile at the audience. _Yes, _I agreed. _Prepared __to have your head handed to you by Clove._

Marvel utterly embarrasses himself by attempting to be funny. Note the word "attempt".

Clove is wearing a strapless salmon pink dress with frilly flowers at the top. She looks beautiful, and I shoot deadly glares at some of the boys in the room who are looking at her rather inappropiately. Naturally, she plays the sadistic killer. It fits her completely. I'm kinda jealous I wasn't the one up there, answering each and everyone of Caesar's questions with sarcasm. Then I remembered I would also have to fight Cato to the death. I pushed that thought away immediately.

Finally, after Clove, comes Cato. He's wearing a silverish, bluish suit and black pants. My heart skipped a beat as he shook hands with Caesar and sat down.

"Cato, tell us about volunteering. It must have been very exciting, am I right?" Caesar asks.

"It's an honor representing my district," Cato replies, smirking at the audience. Some of the women in the audience faint and I glare, biting back a growl.

"You're a fighter?" Caesar continues.

"I'm prepared, I'm vicious, I'm ready to go," was his answer.

"Now Cato, tell me," Caesar says, leaning forward. "Is there a special girl waiting for you at home? That will be cheering you on?" I resist the urge to lean forward.

"Well I do have a girlfriend named Azraleah," he replies. I smile, and ignore the other girls glaring at me. "She's so beautiful, and I love her with everything I've got." My grin grows even wider.

"Ah," Caesar says, nodding. "Will you be winning for her?"

Cato hesitates, and I frown. "Well, when she came to see me after the Reaping, we kind of had a fight. Now I'm not so sure I want to win." My jaw drops and I quickly snap it back up.

"It was that bad? I'm sure she'll forgive you after you come home," Caesar says, reaching over to pat Cato's shoulder. Cato subtly shifts away.

"It's just that..." Cato trails off.

"Yes?" Caesar urges him on.

"Clove is her sister, which is why she got mad at me. I volunteered, aware that I had to kill Clove to win. If Clove dies and I win, she'll hate me forever and I'm not sure I want to live if that's the case," Cato admits, glancing down. The crowd "awws" sadly, and I try to swallow down the guilt and wish with all my heart that I could just jump through that screen and fling my arms around Cato, tell him that I forgive him and that I love him.

Caesar is silent, stumbling around for words. "So what will you do if it comes down to you and Clove?" he finally asks.

Cato shrugs. "It won't be hard finding a way to kill myself." This time, I don't conceal my gasp. There are sobs from the crowd and Caesar is trying to smile optimistically. The timer rang, and Caesar stands up and grabs Cato's hand.

"Ladies and gentlemen, CATO!" he shouts, holding their hands up over their heads. Cato smirks directly at the camera, then jogs off stage. After 18 more boring and pathetic interviews, Catpiss walks onstage.

As much as I absolutely loath to admit, she looks stunning. Her dress is a fiery red, and her hair is up in a bun. The dress has a fabric strap on one shoulder, and the back of that shoulder is covered in little golden studs.

She sits down in the chair and after the crowd quiets down, Caesar looks at her expectantly. _What?_

"What?" she asks.

"I think someone's a little nervous," Caesar chuckles, and so does the audience. I smirk. _Take that, Fatness._

"I _said, _that was quite an entrance you made there at the tribute's parade the other day. Do you want to tell us about it?"

Catpiss paused for a moment, then replies with, "Well I was just... hoping that I wouldn't burn to death." The audience roared with laughter, and even I found myself fighting back a small grin.

"When you came out of that chariot," Caesar went on. "I have to say, my heart stopped. Did any of you experience that?" he asked the crowd, turning to look at them. "My heart stopped." Some screams and claps of agreement were heard from the crowd.

"So did mine."

Everyone cracked up, and Catpiss offered a small smile.

"Now tell me about the flames, are they real?"

"Yes," Fatness responded. "In fact, I'm wearing them today. Would you like to see?" I immediately fought back the urge to face-palm. Of course they would go after the same theme after the reaction they got at the tribute parade. Instead I settled for glaring. The crowd screamed their approval, but Caesar held a palm up.

"Wait, wait, wait, is it safe?" Catpiss actually cracked a grin and gave a small laugh.

"Yes."

"What do you think folks?" The audience roared in excitement. "I think that's a yes!"

Catpiss stood up and gazed out at the audience. Everyone was silent, including everyone with me in the Academy. Suddenly, she began twirling around, flames flickering at the bottom of her dress. I felt like puking. Clove could have definitely pulled that off a million times better. Catpiss just kept twirling around like an idiot as the audience and screamed and clapping and yada yada yada.

When she stopped, she almost tripped over her own feet, which drew snickers from the trainees sitting around me. I sniggered myself. _Serves her right._

"I have one more question for you," Caesar said. "It's about your sister." The crowd fell silent. "We were all very moved, I think, when you volunteered for her at the Reaping. Did she come and say goodbye to you?"

"Yes," Katniss responded.

"And what did you say to her, in the end?"

Fatness hesitated for a moment. "I told her that I would try to win. That I would try to win for her." A small wave of emotion and sympathy rolled from the audience.

"And try you will," Caesar finished. "Ladies and gentlemen from District Twelve, KATNISS EVERDEEN, THE GIRL ON FIRE!"

* * *

If Catpiss's twirling around in her dress made me want to puke, then her district partner's interview made me want to puke _and _throw a chair through the screen at him. There go all the sponsors. All down the drain. Everything.

_Cato will give it to him, _I told myself repeatedly. _Clove will throw a knive through his head. He's dead._

* * *

**Cato's POV**

"Because she came here with me."

I looked around and picked up the first thing I saw, a glass vase, and hurled it at the tv. Sharral screamed and I whipped around to glare at her. She froze under my glower and sort of shrunk back. _That's right, back off._

I stormed off back to my room and slammed the door behind me. Locking the door and shoving the back of a chair under the handle, I sank onto my bed and let my head fall back.

_If only Azra were here._

The tears threatened to fall and I furiously wiped them away. _What?! Cato doesn't cry. Cato. Does. Not. Cry. _I glared fiercely at the ceiling and clenched my jaw and fists.

_That's for your blundering when Azra visited you. Those excuses were pathetic. No wonder she didn't believe you._

I flipped around and sank my face in my pillow, muffling my tears and small sobs. _She's right. Why couldn't you wait for another year? Why did you have to listen to your supposed friends? Why didn't you think before you volunteered?_

**Please review peoples! I act like I'm on sugar high whenever I get a review, and when I'm on sugar high, I write. A lot. So please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Three reviews for Chapter Four! Shoutout to Araisen, pogocrazy7, and eat pray love swim. To eat pray love swim: I couldn't do the periods in between each word for some strange reason; whenever I save it like that, it automatically deletes the whole name. So I had to do it without the periods. Sorry... **

**Okay anyway, I'm going to do a time skip. Right now the Careers have chased Katniss up the tree after the wall of fire and are hurling insults at her. There wasn't much to write about the beginning of the Games and the scores and all that other stuff. So here goes! **

**Disclaimer: Still don't.**

Chapter Five

Time skip into the middle of the Games

I was fuming.

Sparkles is laughing and joking around with _Cato. _My _boyfriend. _And he's laughing along _with _her.

I clench my fists as Sparkles laughes particularly loud, my knuckles turning white. The group starts along the stone banks of the river, when suddenly Marvel spots something.

"Hey you guys!" he shouts. "She's over there!" Catpiss. She's in the river, splashing around, trying to get away. A smirk crept along my face as I watch her struggle.

The Careers pick up the pace and the chase was on. Cato, Marvel, Sparkles, and Clove are all whooping and laughing loudly at their victory, or soon to be victory. Peeta, the boy from Twelve, just trails along at the back, obviously trying to hide a worried look. For a moment I almost felt sorry for him. He actually loves Catpiss, and they have to fight each other to the death. Maybe not directly, but still.

Finally Catpiss stops, panting, and gazed around wildly. _Yep, _I think smugly. _No one here to save you now. _She races over to a tree and grabbed a knob, hoisting herself up. I curse and huff quietly.

Soon the rest of the Careers have caught up and surrounded the tree.

"How's it going up there?" Cato calls mockingly.

"It's been a little warm for my tastes," Catpiss calls back.

"I'm going up," Cato mutters. Sparkles offers Cato her bow, but Cato refuses.

"I'm better with my sword," he mutters, grabbing one of the knobs on the tree and followed Catpiss, throwing insults at her while the other Careers call encouragement up to him.

Cato's hand slipped once and he cursed. After he regained his balance, he kept climbing. "I'm coming for you," he calls up to Catpiss. He grabs onto a branch and it snaps under his weight. He crashes to the ground and I bite my lip. No one even flinches as he lands, and he gets up right away, fuming.

Sparkles notches an arrow into her bow and releases it at Catpiss. It misses by a mile. I snicker, and I'm not alone. _Wow Sparkles, bad timing much? Now's really not the time to go hunting, althought you did almost get that squirrel over there, _I call to Sparkles in my mind, not even trying to contain my smirk.

Cato grabs the bow and an arrow from Sparkles and aims it at Catpiss. It misses, but it was closer to Catpiss than Sparkles' was.

"Maybe you should throw the sword," Catpiss calls teasingly down to them. _Bad move, _I think, shaking my head. _You are _so _asking for it._

"Or we could just wait her out," Lover Boy speaks up. All of the Careers turn to Lover Boy and stare at him. "She's gotta come down at some point, it's that or starve to death. Just kill her then," Lover Boy adds. Cato and Sparkles look at each other and a silent message pass between them. That's the last straw.

I get up abruptly and people turn to stare at me. "Excuse me," I force out through gritted teeth and head to the door.

"I'm sorry Azraleah, you can't miss this," one of the trainers, Columbae Elphinstone, stops me and says to me. She doesn't sound sorry at all.

"Really?" I snarl. "Make me." With that I storm out of the Academy before Columbae can stop me.

I break into a sprint and somehow, my feet lead me to one of the mountain trails I used to climb every weekend with Cato. I start along the trail and I jump onto the boulders in the creek next to the path. I follow the creek, leaping from rock to rock and jumping over fallen logs instead of taking the designated trail. I didn't want to run into anyone; I just wanted to be completely alone right now.

I didn't break a stride as I leaped down from a log and onto a small rock that barely broke the surface of the water. I quickly put my other foot onto a bigger rock so I didn't lose my balance. Wind rushing in my face, I race down the creek until I reach a small waterfall. I stop by the little pool at the bottom and cup some water in my palms and hold them up to my face to drink. After I've been properly hydrated, I pour water on my sweaty face and head.

I sit on one of the big boulders by the edge of the pool. A willow tree grows next to it, and the huge leaf-covered branches hang over the pond, giving shade. As I stare absentmindedly at the waterfall, I begin thinking about what Cato and Clove must be doing right now. _Well I know what Cato is doing, _I think bitterly. _Flirting with that hollow-headed blonde. _

_Why would he do this to me? _I wonder, burying my face in my hands. _Stop being such a sissy, _a voice inside my head scolds me. _He's probably just doing it 'cause he's bored and Clove isn't exactly his favorite person in the whole wide world. And can you imagine him becoming friends with Marvel? Exactly. You're just fretting over nothing. _

_He wouldn't do something like that, _another voice in my head argues. _He would just sulk to himself if he was bored and had no one to keep him company. Maybe he's doing it because he's mad at you._

_Why would he be mad at you? _the first voice shoots back. _You didn't do anything wrong. He's the one that volunteered._

_Maybe he had a good reason for volunteering and he was trying to tell you but never got the chance to, _the second voice reasons. _And he's mad at you because you just go mad at him and never gave him a chance to explain. So he's trying to get revenge._

_Get out of my head! _I snap at both of the voices. _Neither of you are making me feel better._

* * *

I reenter the cafeteria once more, where everyone is watching in their sleeping bags. I had stayed at the waterfall until well after sunset, and walked slowly back on the trail.

Columabae shoots me a look, and I ignore it as I walk back to my sleeping bag. The camera's still on the Careers sitting beneath the tree. Lover Boy is gazing up at Catpiss, Marvel is sleeping, and Sparkles is... flirting with Cato. Wow. I would never have guessed.

Cato pokes the tip of his sword into the fire. The tip glows orange-red and he spits a little on it.

"Boys," Sparkles simpers **(Is that a word?)**, giggling. Cato smirks at her and I can nearly hear the Capitol women swooning. I glare flaming daggers at the screen and bite back a growl. _Maybe I shouldn't have come back so soon._

Clove is tossing knives with lizards as dummies. She shoots a glare at Cato every once in a while and it's comforting, knowing Clove is still looking out for me. Catpiss recieves a sponsor gift, Sparkles giggles and flirts with Cato, Cato pokes the fire with his sword, blah blah blah. _Seriously? This is so boring._

Finally Sparkles goes to sleep. On top of Cato. Clove gets up, walks over to Cato, and kicks him.

"What was that for?" he hisses.

"Get up and come over here," Clove orders. Cato rolls his eyes and gently nudges Sparkles off him. He walks over to Clove and she leads him slightly away from the makeshift camp.

"What was that?!" she hisses.

"What was what?" Cato snaps.

"You and Glimmer!" Cato is silent.

Clove leans in so close her lips are almost touching his ear. "What about Azra?" she hisses so quietly I wasn't so sure what she had said.

"Whatever," Cato spits, stalking back to the camp. I force my face to stay blank as a few girls glance at me. A lump rises in my throat as I comprehend what Cato just said. The girls smirk widely and I clench my jaw to stop the tears from spilling. An ice cold claw squeezes my heart and I clench my fists to hold back the tears.

The screen switches to Caesar and Claudius.

"Did you catch what Cato replied to Clove?" Caesar asks Claudius.

"Not exactly, let's watch that clip again, shall we?" Claudius suggests. Clove and Cato reappear and Clove whispers again,

"What about Azra?"

"Whatever."

This was torture. It's like they were taunting me, making sure I heard exactly what Cato had said about our relationship.

"If I heard correctly, I believe it was 'What about us, huh?'" Caesar says. "Maybe District Twelve isn't the only District with two star-crossed lovers!" I snort softly in disdain. These people are pathetic; they have absolutely no idea. But at least it might help with the sponsors.

"If you wish, you may go to sleep now," Gaviner announces. "Everything that happens during the night will have been recorded. You may keep watching if you want." Many people slide into their sleeping bags, but I stay sitting, gazing at the screen. I can't afford to miss anything. I have to keep watching.

* * *

Sparkles has fallen asleep on watch. _Wow, brilliant job she's doing. _None of them are keeping watch. Basically they could all die any moment. I glare as she shifts her head on Cato's arm and snuggles into his chest.

Suddenly, the camera shifts upward. Catpiss is awake. She looks like she's... communicating with someone. The little girl from Eleven. I think her name was Rue. She points upward and then down at the ground. My eyes widen as I realize what she was pointing at. There was a huge tracker jacker nest in the tree. If she pointed at the ground after...

"Cato and Clove..." I whisper, trying to contain my horror. Rue makes a sawing motion with her hands and points once more at the Careers. Catpiss nods and unfastens the rope to climb up. She has a small kinfe and begins sawing at the branch the tracker jacker nest was on.

_Come on! _I yelled at the Careers in my head. _Wake up, someone! _No one did. The branch begins creaking dangerously, and I willed one of them, any of them, to wake up. Tracker jacker stings could cause powerful hallucinations and possibly kill.

The nest comes crashing down onto the ground, almost in slow motion. Screams fill the air as they awaken, and Cato pulls Clove up and starts running. I let a soft smile decorate my face as Cato helps Clove along. Sparkles falls to the ground, blundering blindly along, as she is swarmed with tracker jackers. I almost feel sorry for her as she falls to the ground, screaming. Cato, Clove, Marvel, and Lover Boy are making a break for it, not even bothering to go back and help her.

The screen shows Catpiss climbing down from the tree and walking around unsteadily. Later, she comes back to get Glimmer's bow and arrows. She kneels down next to Glimmer's horribly disfirgured body and pries the bow from her hands.

Lover Boy comes running into the clearing. "Go, Katniss!" he shouts. "What are you still doing here? Go!" Catpiss stares at him dazedly before stumbling away. Cato comes into the clearing and Lover boy turns to face him.

"Traitor," Cato growls. "We took you in! How could you betray us?"

"I couldn't let you kill her," Lover Boy defends himself. _He's got guts, _I admit grudgingly to myself. _Even I wouldn't dare to make Cato even angrier when he's like that. _

Cato takes a threatening step forward and in turn, Lover Boy takes a step back. Cato raises his sword and it comes crashing down on Lover Boy's leg. He falls to the ground, groaning in agony, and his leg starts rapidly oozing blood. Just when I think Cato is going to kill him, Cato also falls to the ground: affects of the tracker jacker stings.

The screen switchs back to Caesar and Claudius, and I zone out.

**Sorry, I can't remember exactly how the conversation between Cato and Katniss (when Cato was about to climb the tree) in the book went, so I sort of fused parts of the movie and the book together. I don't want to copy the movie entirely, 'cause the book is awesome. :)**

**Please review? Pretty please with whipped cream on top? **


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello. I'm just saying that because I can't think of a more interesting greeting.**

**Only one review? Was the last chapter that bad? :( Thank you pogocrazy7 for reviewing! I can't say this chapter will be that exciting; it's a filler chapter. The next chapter will be better. **

**Okay, instead of shoutouts, I'm going to reply to the reviews from now on. So... yeah.**

**pogocrazy7: Yes, I give you permission to slap Cato. I'm not sure if Azra will be angry or pleased. And I would definitely liked to see Clove kick him... there.**

**Disclaimer: Nope.**

Chapter Six

A huge booming shook the room. I gazed wide-eyed at the screen, watching the huge pyramid of the Careers' supplies blown up in a cloud of dust. When the smoke cleared, all that was left of the supplies were small clumps of ashes. Catpiss was crouched at the dege of the clearing, holding her bow, quiver hanging on her back.

_No,_ I thought weakly. _Cato and Clove are doomed.__  
_

The boy from Three was walking around, tossing pebbles into the wreckage to make sure all the land mines were disactivated. Cato storms into the clearing, followed by Clove and Marvel.

"What the h*ll happened?!" he demands, glaring at the boy from Three. The look on his face is terrifying, and everyone knows the boy from Three is dead. Cato roughly grabs the spear Three's holding and tosses it to the side. He grabs the back of Three's head and twists it, effectively killing him. Three falls limply to the ground, but no one in the room flinches at the gruesome death.

Meanwhile, Catpiss watches in horror. After the cannon annoucing Three's death sounds, she stumbles to her feet and jogs out of the clearing.

The camera's on Catpiss as she runs through the forest. She whistles the four-note tune that Rue taught her earlier, before she blew up the supplies. The mockingjays repeat it, and she gazes around. She whistles the tune again and walks a little farther.

Suddenly a piercing scream fills the forest. "KATNISS!" Rue's voice.

Catpiss breaks into a sprint in the direction the voice is coming from. "KATNISS!" Rue screams again, and Catpiss runs even faster. "KATNISS, HELP! KATNISS!" Catpiss runs into a small clearing, where little Rue is writhing around in a net. Catpiss bolts across the clearing to her and pulls out her knife.

"It's okay," she whispers, sawing at the rope with the knife. She pulls the net off of Rue and the little girl throws herself at Catpiss in a desperate hug.

"You're okay," Catpiss whispers to Rue. "You're okay." As they pull back, a twig snaps. Rue's eyes widen, and Catpiss whirls around. Marvel. Catpiss grabs her bow and arrows and notches an arrow into the bow just as Marvel tosses the spear. She release the arrow and it pierces Marvel's stomach. He gazes at it in horror before falling to the ground, dead. Catpiss turns back to Rue.

The spear had entered her chest. Rue pulls it out numbly before her legs give out from underneath her. Katniss catches her as she falls and cradles her in her arms. Blood is soaking Rue's shirt around the wound, and tears start leaking out of her eyes. I swallow hard as an ice cold fist squeezes my heart. _No. Not Rue._

Katniss is trying to contain her sobs as she murmurs comfort to Rue. The dark-skinned girl's breaths start to come out ragged. "Did you blow up the food?" Rue asks quietly. A flash of anger sears through my mind, but it is overpowered by sadness. Catpiss nods.

"Every bit of it."

"Good," Rue breathes. A tear slides down her cheek. "You have to win." Katniss looks up to gaze at Marvel's lifeless body, then back down at Rue.

"Can you sing?" Rue asks, her face scrunching up in agony. Katniss nodded and starts singing.

"Deep in the meadow, under the willow

A bed of grass, a soft green pillow

Lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes

And when again they open, the sun will rise

Here it's safe, here it's warm

Here the daises guard you from every harm

Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true

Here is the place where I love you

Deep in the meadow, hidden far away

A cloak of leaves, a moonbeam ray

Forget your woes and let your troubles lay

And when again it's morning, they'll wash away

Here it's safe, here it's warm

Here the daises guard you from every harm

Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true

Here is the place where I love you"

Katniss's voice is hauntingly beautiful, and she keeps on singing far after Rue's eyes glaze over and her breathing stills. As she finishs singing, she gently runs her hand over Rue's face to close her eyes. A pang of grief shoots through my heart and tears prick at the back of my eyes. I reach up in a lightning-fast motion and wipe them away. Luckily no one saw, or I would probably be kicked out of the Academy. But right then, I didn't care. This little girl didn't deserve to have her life taken away for simply Capitol entertainment. Rue didn't deserve to die so young.

* * *

I walk confidently over to the knife station and pick up a small knife. I flip it over in my hand, judging about how much force would be needed to effectively hit the target.

I step over to the target and in one swift motion, flick my wrist and release the knife. It embeds itself into the dummy's upper arm.

I gaze disbelievingly at the knife as snickers sound from behind. "That was pathetic," I hear Alexis, one of the other girls in the advanced class, scoff. I force myself not to turn around and toss a knife into her face. I pick up another knife and throw it at the same dummy, but in my fury, I can't concentrate and the knife hits the thigh. Louder snickers and snorts resound and I gaze incredulously at the dummy. _How?!_

At this point, Cato or Clove would come over and tell the girls to bug off. _But they're not here, so deal with it yourself, you little wimp, _I tell myself harshly. I pick up yet another knife and lift my arm, holding the knife up next to my head. I narrow my eyes on the dummy and focus on the area where the heart would be. Blocking out the snickers and scoffs, I bring my arm down and release the knife. It embeds itself deep in the dummy's chest. I turn back to where the girls are and smirk at them. Shaking her head, Alexis rolls her eyes and sashays away, her "friends" following her like puppies. I snort in disdain and head over to the dummy to take the knives out.

* * *

That night, as I slept in my sleeping bag on the cold, hard, ground, I dreamt about Cato and Clove.

_Clove has Catpiss pinned to the ground, a knife at the ready. _

_"-just like your pathetic little ally. What was her name again? The one who hopped around in the trees? Rue? Well we killed her. Now we're going to kill you too, and we'll just let nature take care of Lover Boy, hmm? Want to blow him one last kiss?" Clove smirks, her knife grazing Catpiss's cheek. Catpiss struggles desperately, but Clove has her pinned firmly to the ground. I smirk, satisfied. Finally someone will put Catpiss in her place._

_Suddenly, the big, bulky tribute from Eleven picks Clove up and slams her roughly against the Cornucopia. "You kill her?" he roars. "You kill that little girl?"  
_

_"No!" Clove screams. "No, I didn't- CATO! CATO!" I gaze in horror as Thresh throws my twin sister against the Corucopia again. "CATO!"  
_

_Clove falls to the ground limply, eyes glazed over. "NO!" I scream. People start staring at me, but all my attention was focused on my sister's motionless body. Tears start streaming rapidly down my face and my voice cracks. "CLOVE!"_

* * *

_"Go on," Cato taunts. Katniss's arrow is aimed at him, and she looks unsure of what she's about to do. Huge tear droplets fall from my face. I'm losing both Clove and Cato. Neither of them are coming home. "I'm dead anyway. I always was, right? I didn't know that until now. Is that what they want, huh?" he shouts at the sky. He starts laughing like a maniac. "I can still do this. I can still do this. One more kill. It's the only thing I ever knew how to do. Bringing pride to my District. Not that it mattered." No. Please Cato. Don't do this._

_Lover Boy shifts a little and my gaze flicks to him. He lifts his finger and makes an X on Cato's hand. My eyes widen in horror as I realize what Lover Boy is saying to Catpiss. Cato has absolutely no idea what is going on. My arms tense, causing my hands shake as I will Cato to notice._

_Catpiss releases the arrow and it hits the back of Cato's hand. He howls in pain and releases Lover Boy. Cato stumbles and falls off the edge of the Cornucopia, down to the waiting muttations, with their jaws wide open._

_The muttation dogs start to tear Cato's flesh off him. He screams in agony, but he's unable to escape. I get up and try to leave so I don't have to witness his death, but Columbae saw me and came over. She forced me back and held my head in place so I had to watch. Tears escape my eyes and Columbae punches me hard in the chest. Cato's groans and pleas for mercy ring through the night, along with the barking of the muttations. Finally, Catpiss notches an arrow and aims it at Cato. A mercy kill._

_She lets the arrow go and the cannon goes off._

I sit up in my sleeping bag, panting hard, tears and sweat streaming down my face. I lift my head to look at the screen. Cato and Clove. They're alive. I nearly cry again, but this time in joy and relief.

As I thought about the dreams about Cato's and Clove's deaths, fear crept into my heart. Cato and Clove couldn't die like that. They couldn't die. No. I wouldn't let them.

**Rue's death was heartbreaking to write, although at the replay of the Reapings, Azra did say that "I wouldn't fancy seeing Rue die". I love Amandla Stenberg so much! Yes, sometimes when Azra feels bad for Katniss, she reverts to her real name instead of "Catpiss". I feel like it would just ruin the whole scene if Azra called Katniss "Catpiss" during Rue's death. This chapter was so hard to write, please review!**

**Yeah, Azra had dreams about Cato's and Clove's deaths. Will they come true? Maybe. Maybe not. Please review to get the next chapter faster!**

******Do you guys know any songs that might be good for this situation? Like, that explain how Azra's missing her boyfriend and sister, and how she can only have one back? I need a song like that desperately. Like, I can't write the next chapter without it.**


	7. Chapter 7

**As you can all tell, I have changed my pen name to xXSarcasticNinjaXx because Indigo Spirit is just plain lame. The "xX-Xx" is because there was already someone on here with that username. But I promise I came up with that myself! I did not copy.**

**770 views! And I have views from like, Venezuela and Poland and a bunch of countries that I have never even heard of. That is crazy. Thank you so much everyone!**

**pogocrazy7: You never know... ;) The dream just came to mind and I thought it was a good idea. I am so smart, aren't I? JK :P**

**smilesandrainbows: Thanks for your reviews on the previous chapters! Um... I guess I just liked the idea of Azra being able to tell the future and it shows how close her dreams came to being real.**

**Disclaimer: I still do not own the Hunger Games. I do own Azraleah and all my other OCs. I also own the lyrics for "Helpless", although "Helpless" is a parody of White Horse, which Taylor Swift owns. I love that song and Taylor Swift so much!**

Chapter Seven

I strummed my guitar absentmindedly. Today was one of the days when we didn't have to go to the Academy. It was required we had to watch the Games from home, but we didn't have to go there and watch or train or anything. So here I am, doing absolutely nothing on my guitar.

Suddenly I feel guilty. Cato and Clove are in the Hunger Games, fighting for their lives, and here I am, bored out of my mind. _I could always go to the Academy to train, _I thought. _  
_

Absolutely not.

I thought about the time my cat died. I had cried in my room for weeks on end, but the main thing that had helped me recover was listening to songs that were written about similar situations. So I put the guitar down and went over to the computer.

I had no idea what to search. So I just typed in "Sad Songs".

After listening to twenty-some songs, I gave up. There just wasn't anything right. I mean, how many good song writers had had their boyfriend/girlfriend and sister go into the same Hunger Games?

I turned off the computer and picked up the guitar again. _If you can't find a song that fits, then why don't you write a song?_

So I did just that.

* * *

_**Got talent? Sign up for the annual talent show!**_

_**The talent show will take place at the Academy during the annual party celebrating the 74th Hunger Games.**_

_**For those who don't already know, the party will be on 9/12/3014, pick up a sign up sheet at the Academy's office.**_

I shrugged to myself as I read the flyer. _Why not? _I asked myself. _There's not much to lose, considering I've pretty much already lost Cato and Clove. _I headed to the office to fill out a sign-up sheet.

* * *

I walked onstage, carrying my guitar. The crowd fell silent as I took a seat in the chair in the middle of the stage and moved the microphone closer to me.

"Hello everyone," I began. "I'm going to sing a song that I wrote, called "Helpless". All of you know Cato, who is this year's male tribute for the Hunger Games." A cheer rose up at Cato's name. "I wrote this song for him. Ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, "Helpless"."

Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and began strumming my guitar.

_**I'm so sorry that rage of a tiger came out when you didn't need it**_

_**And I pace back and forth all this time 'cause I wanna turn it around**_

_**Holding back, the days drag on**_

_**Stupid girl, I love you so, I love you so**_

_"Azra! Wait up!" A blond-haired boy broke into a run to catch up with me. He fell in step next to me and grabbed my hand. I turned my eyes onto the sweaty boy._

_"Are you seriously sweating, Cato?" I teased. "I wasn't that far ahead of you. You need to start working out more."_

_Cato playfully shoved me to the side and I stumbled dramatically. "Cato!" I gasped as I righted herself. "How dare you push a lady?!"_

_Cato snorted. "You call yourself a lady?"_

_"True," I admitted, an evil smirk growing on her face. I snuck a glance at Cato. He was completely oblivious. My smirk grew wider. "Because a lady wouldn't be able to do this."_

_I dropped her bag and, fast as lightning, kneed Cato where it hurts. He doubled over, clutching his stomach, and I slammed my entire body weight into his side, pushing him to the ground. I grabbed his wrists and pinned them to the ground, then pushed my knees into his calves, also locking them in place._

_I just stayed like that for a few moments, relishing the triumph of finally beating Cato._

_"You got dust on me."_

_I glanced down at Cato, who was glaring daggers at me. I snickered._

_"You're just mad that I beat you," I shot back._

_Cato smirked like he just got a new idea. Uh oh. He leaned up and pressed his lips against mine. My concentration slipped for a split-second, and in that split-second, Cato flipped me over onto my back and pinned me to the ground the same way I had pinned him. And the tables are turned._

_"You are horrible," I spat, glaring at him. Cato smirked._

_"You know you love me," he teased. My gaze softened, and I lifted my head to kiss him. We stayed like that for several moments, kissing on the ground, until Cato pulled away from me, breathing heavily._

_"I do love you," I replied softly._

_He smiled and got off me, then offered me his hand. I debated whether or not to pull him down._ It would be kind of hard, seeing as he's pretty strong, and I might humiliate myself._ I decided to pass on this one._

_I grabbed his calloused hand and he hoisted me to her feet. I dusted off my butt and picked up my bag, slinging it over my shoulder. We kept walking casually like wrestling in the middle of the road was completely normal. Which it was for us._

_"By the way, to answer your earlier comment, I'm sweating because I had to fight Flint, Brogen, and Thom in a row. But I won all three matches," Cato told me smugly. _And here comes the ego.

_I rolled my eyes at his competitiveness. Then I smirked. "If you beat all three, that means I could beat all three. Since I beat you."_

_Cato considered reminding her of all the other times he'd beaten her, which was pretty much every time. He just decided to let it go. _Besides, Azraleah's happy._ He decided to just play along. "You are not going to let this go easily, are you?"_

_"Nope," I cheerfully replied, grinning widely._

_The two walked along silently for a while. The silence wasn't the awkward-don't know what to say kind of silence, it was comfortable silence, although soon broken by me._

_"Are you still planning on volunteering tomorrow?" I asked quietly, staring at the gravel. Cato tensed, and stopped walking._

_"Look at me, Azra," he ordered softly. He cupped my cheeks in his palms and lifted my head so he could look into me eyes. I still didn't meet his gaze._

_"Come on, Azra," he coaxed. "Look at me." Hesitantly, I lifted my eyes to meet his. "I'm going to win these Games, I promise. When I come back, we'll get married, and live in a beautiful house in Victor's Village, you and me. Neither of us will have to work in the quarries, and we'll have the best life possible."_

_"That's if you win," I whispered, dropping her eyes again._

_"Have a little faith in me, will ya?" Cato said teasingly, trying to lighten the mood and forcing a smile on his face. A corner of my mouth twitched unwillingly, but my face quickly grew somber again._

_"This is serious, Cato!" I cried. "There are 24 of you, and only one comes out alive!" I buried my face in the crook of his neck.. "I'd rather work in the quarries for the rest of my life than lose you." Cato didn't answer, he just pulled me close and wrapped his arms around me tightly._

_They stood in the middle of the path, hugging silently, with me occasionally stifling sobs. Even Cato felt tears burning in the back of his eyes, and he furiously blinked the tears away._

_I finally pulled back. "I'm being ridiculous," I said firmly, as if telling myself that. "Of course you're going to win. No one else can beat you." I tried to sound confident for my boyfriend's sake._

_Said boyfriend smiled.  
_

_"And when you come back, I will beat you," I added._

_Cato raised his eyebrows and a smirk played on his lips._

_"We'll see about that," was all he said._

_"We sure will."_

_When Cato and I got to my (father's) house in Victor's VIllage, Cato pecked me sweetly on the lips and whispered huskily, "See you tomorrow." Then he turned and jogged off._

_I stayed standing on the porch long after Cato left. My fingers reached up to ghost over my lips where Cato's lips had just been._

_Little did I know it would be my last._

_**'Cause life isn't perfect**_

_**This ain't a fairytale**_

_**Please don't give up 'cause I need you to come back to me**_

_**That is a big world**_

_**This is a dull town**_

_**I am a fighter but here I am, tears raining down**_

_**I just feel so weak and helpless**_

_**Watching you now**_

_"Azra, let me explain," __Cato pleaded, taking my hand in his and rubbing his thumb soothingly over the back of my hand._

_"THERE'S NOTHING TO EXPLAIN!" I screamed, wrenching my hand roughly from his grasp._

_"You're being unreasonable-"_

_"DON'T TELL ME I'M BEING UNREASONABLE!"_

_"I can protect Clove!"_

_"Yeah, and then kill her!"_

**_Maybe I was angry, got mad at you and never gave _**_**you a chance**_

_**I had so many dreams about you and me**_

_**Happy endings, now I know**_

_"Well I do have a girlfriend named Azraleah," he replies. I smile, and ignore the other girls glaring at me. "She's so beautiful, and I love her with everything I've got." My grin grows even wider._

_"Ah," Caesar says, nodding. "Will you be winning for her?"_

_Cato hesitates, and I frown. "Well, when she came to see me after the Reaping, we kind of had a fight. Now I'm not so sure I want to win." My jaw drops and I quickly snap it back up._

_"It was that bad? I'm sure she'll forgive you after you come home," Caesar says, reaching over to pat Cato's shoulder. Cato subtly shifts away._

_"It's just that..." Cato trails off._

_"Yes?" Caesar urges him on._

_"Clove is her sister, which is why she got mad at me. I volunteered, aware that I had to kill Clove to win. If Clove dies and I win, she'll hate me forever and I'm not sure I want to live if that's the case," Cato admits, glancing down. The crowd "awws" sadly, and I try to swallow down the guilt and wish with all my heart that I could just jump through that screen and fling my arms around Cato, tell him that I forgive him and that I love him._

_Caesar is silent, stumbling around for words. "So what will you do if it comes down to you and Clove?" he finally asks._

_Cato shrugs. "It won't be hard finding a way to kill myself."_

_**That life isn't perfect**_

_**This ain't a fairytale**_

_**Please don't give up 'cause I need you to come back to me**_

_**That is a big world**_

_**This is a dull town**_

_**I am a fighter but here I am, tears raining down**_

_**I just feel so weak and helpless**_

_**Watching you now**_

_I was fuming._

_Sparkles is laughing and joking around with Cato. My boyfriend. And he's laughing along with her._

_I clench my fists as Sparkles laughes particularly loud, my knuckles turning white. The group starts along the stone banks of the river, when suddenly Marvel spots something._

_"Hey you guys!" he shouts. "She's over there!" Catpiss. She's in the river, splashing around, trying to get away. A smirk crept along my face as I watch her struggle._

_The Careers pick up the pace and the chase was on. Cato, Marvel, Sparkles, and Clove are all whooping and laughing loudly at their victory, or soon to be victory. Peeta, the boy from Twelve, just trails along at the back, obviously trying to hide a worried look. For a moment I almost felt sorry for him. He actually loves Catpiss, and they have to fight each other to the death. Maybe not directly, but still._

_Finally Catpiss stops, panting, and gazed around wildly. Yep, I think smugly. No one here to save you now. She races over to a tree and grabbed a knob, hoisting herself up. I curse and huff quietly._

_Soon the rest of the Careers have caught up and surrounded the tree._

_"How's it going up there?" Cato calls mockingly._

_"It's been a little warm for my tastes," Catpiss calls back._

_"I'm going up," Cato mutters. Sparkles offers Cato her bow, but Cato refuses._

_"I'm better with my sword," he mutters, grabbing one of the knobs on the tree and followed Catpiss, throwing insults at her while the other Careers call encouragement up to him._

_Cato's hand slipped once and he cursed. After he regained his balance, he kept climbing. "I'm coming for you," he calls up to Catpiss. He grabs onto a branch and it snaps under his weight. He crashes to the ground and I bite my lip. No one even flinches as he lands, and he gets up right away, fuming._

_Sparkles notches an arrow into her bow and releases it at Catpiss. It misses by a mile. I snicker, and I'm not alone. Wow Sparkles, bad timing much? Now's really not the time to go hunting, althought you did almost get that squirrel over there, I call to Sparkles in my mind, not even trying to contain my smirk._

_Cato grabs the bow and an arrow from Sparkles and aims it at Catpiss. It misses, but it was closer to Catpiss than Sparkles' was._

_"Maybe you should throw the sword," Catpiss calls teasingly down to them. Bad move, I think, shaking my head. You are so asking for it._

_"Or we could just wait her out," Lover Boy speaks up. All of the Careers turn to Lover Boy and stare at him. "She's gotta come down at some point, it's that or starve to death. Just kill her then," Lover Boy adds. Cato and Sparkles look at each other and a silent message pass between them. _

_**So here I am on my knees**_

_**Begging for forgiveness, for your love**_

_**I just want you to know that I'm so sorry**_

_"Go on," Cato taunts. Katniss's arrow is aimed at him, and she looks unsure of what she's about to do. Huge tear droplets fall from my face. I'm losing both Clove and Cato. Neither of them are coming home. "I'm dead anyway. I always was, right? I didn't know that until now. Is that what they want, huh?" he shouts at the sky. He starts laughing like a maniac. "I can still do this. I can still do this. One more kill. It's the only thing I ever knew how to do. Bringing pride to my District. Not that it mattered." No. Please Cato. Don't do this._

_Lover Boy shifts a little and my gaze flicks to him. He lifts his finger and makes an X on Cato's hand. My eyes widen in horror as I realize what Lover Boy is saying to Catpiss. Cato has absolutely no idea what is going on. My arms tense, causing my hands shake as I will Cato to notice._

_Catpiss releases the arrow and it hits the back of Cato's hand. He howls in pain and releases Lover Boy. Cato stumbles and falls off the edge of the Cornucopia, down to the waiting muttations, with their jaws wide open._

_The muttation dogs start to tear Cato's flesh off him. He screams in agony, but he's unable to escape. I get up and try to leave so I don't have to witness his death, but Columbae saw me and came over. She forced me back and held my head in place so I had to watch. Tears escape my eyes and Columbae punches me hard in the chest. Cato's groans and pleas for mercy ring through the night, along with the barking of the muttations. Finally, Catpiss notches an arrow and aims it at Cato. A mercy kill._

_She lets the arrow go and the cannon goes off._

_**'Cause life's never perfect**_

_**This ain't a fairytale**_

_**I want you to know that I'm sorry and I love you**_

_**That is a big world**_

_**This is a dull town**_

_**But here I'll be, in District Two 'cause I couldn't let go**_

_**And I feel so weak and helpless**_

_**Now I am so weak and helpless**_

_**Watching you now**_

_**Oh whoa, whoa, whoa oh**_

_**Watching you now**_

As I finished, the crowd went wild. I flashed a smile at the audience and smirked smugly at the girls at the back who were glaring, Alexis in particular. "Thank you everyone," I said simply into the microphone before walking off the stage, a slight prance to my step.

* * *

I stared in shock at the computer screen in front of me. My eyes are decieving me. This is so not real.

"-just feel so weak and helpless, watching you now..."

It's me. Someone had recorded my song at the talent show and now I'm on the internet.

"Somehow, the song made it all the way to the Capitol, and it's been a smash hit all over Panem," Thalia said excitedly. I made friends with Thalia one day during training when the snobby girls were bugging me again. Thalia had came to my defense when Alexis had said something extremely mean. Specifically:

"Cato obviously doesn't love you. You saw him with Glimmer. You're just so hopeful and head over heels in love that you refuse to accept the obvious fact that he doesn't care about you a single bit."

Thalia had strolled up to Alexis and started talking her down. She was so aggressive that Alexis started backing up, and Thalia soon had her cornered into the hand-to-hand combat arena. Then Thalia beat her up. Long story short. So yeah. I think we're friends.

The number of views and likes for the video were going up by the minute. I'm pretty sure my eyes were still wide as saucers.

"I'm not going to ask you what you did, but I know that he still loves you, even though we don't know why he was... acting like he was with the dumb blonde from One," Thalia said softly, her eyes were sad and apologetic. "If Cato makes it out of the Games, once he hears this, I know he'll forgive you."

I smiled slightly. "Thanks for caring, Thalia."

* * *

As I fell asleep that night, I couldn't stop thinking about the song. Then, all of a sudden, a lightbulb went off. _Sponsors.__  
_

**PLEASE DO NOT STEAL MY SONG LYRICS! I worked really hard to write the lyrics, even though they kinda suck and it doesn't rhyme. If you don't like it, WELL LET'S SEE YOU TRY TO WRITE A SONG ABOUT A GIRL WHO'S BOYFRIEND AND SISTER ARE GOING INTO THE HUNGER GAMES! I'm bad at rhyming. I also tweaked the song a little. This is my first time, peoples, please. **

**I know that the internet probably doesn't seem like it exists during this era, but think about it. This is a few thousand years AFTER right now. Don't you think they'd have at least something close to the internet? I mean, this is District Two we're talking about. Like, the third best place to live in Panem.**

**So you know the part when Azra is singing and she's thinking about her and Cato walking home from the Academy? Sorry if that's a little third person. It was orginally third person, as you all know, and I just changed all the "she"s and "her"s into "I"s and "me"s. So it'll kind of be third person. I tried to fix it best as I could. :)**

**I'm gonna start bribing you. I know the past few chapters were fillers and therefore not that interesting, but hopefully things will escalate from here. Let's see... five reviews for the next chapter? Since I worked so hard on the song and everything. I cannot promise the next chapter will be up as soon as I recieve five reviews, but I will not post until I recieve five reviews. That will be 27 reviews in all. Hopefully that makes sense. **

**Ciao!**


	8. Chapter 8

**OMG! Over 1,000 views! That is amazing you guys!**

**As a belated 4th of July present, I will give you this chapter even though we didn't get five reviews. I was going to give it to you sooner, but for the whole first half of the day, I didn't even realize it was the 4th of July. I had my computer time in the morning, so I couldn't go on the computer in the afternoon when I did realize it was the 4th of July. Then on Sunday, I went to church in the morning and my friends from church came to our house to swim for the rest of the day 'cause it was SO HOT! So now here we are, on Monday, with a new chapter.**

**pogocrazy7: I'm glad you liked the song. I hope it wasn't too bad. *makes a face* Your reviews just flatter me so much!**

**BTRrusher1: Thanks for your review! Here's your update. ;)**

**Araisen: I just love Thalia. She kind of reminds me of Clove in a way. She'll be the one that helps Azra through most of this craziness.**

**Disclaimer: I still do not own the Hunger Games and never will. Suzanne Collins is so amazing! She gave me something to actually do with my life! Well, other than writing Warriors fics of course.**

Chapter Eight

"Azraleah."

My head whips around at the voice. The head of the Academy and District Two's oldest living Victor, Tempest, is walking towards me. He beckons, so I put the knife back and walk over to him. I follow him silently to his office, and he shuts the door.

"Please take a seat," he offers, gesturing to the chairs in front of his desk. Since I really have no other choice, I plop down in one of the chairs.

The door opens and closes again. I turn around to look and who do I see? None other than my mother and father.

"What are you doing here?" I say softly. Mother gives a tiny shake of her head and they seat themselves in the other two chairs.

"You must be wondering why I called you here," he says.

"Is Azra...leah in trouble?" Father asks, frowning.

"It's actually quite the contrary," Tempest chuckles. My eyebrows furrow slightly. "Now Azraleah," he begins, looking at me,"as I'm sure you are already aware, the song you performed at the talent show is a huge hit with the Capitol." Nod. "President Snow himself has heard it and he wishes to attend another performance of your song." My jaw drops to the ground. My parents' eyes are wide as saucers.

"Under normal circumstances, we would require you to stay here and watch the Games, as well as train," Tempest continues. "However, since the President himself has required your audience, we are sending you to the Capitol." My jaw lowers even farther, if that was even possible, and I'm pretty sure my eyebrows are disappearing into my hairline.

Tempest turns to my parents. "I have invited you here to ask you for permission to send Azraleah to the Capitol." Mother and Father look at each other.

"I will allow it," Father begins. "But _only _if Azraleah agrees." The sets of eyes turn on me and my mind goes blank. Since thye are still waiting for an answer, I nod.

"Perfect," Tempest says. "You will depart this afternoon. The performance will be in two days. You will be prepared the same way a tribute for the Hunger Games is; you will have a preperation team and a stylist who will design your outfits. Not only will President Snow be there, but so will thousands of Capitol citizens." My heart stutters with nervousness and Mother squeezes my hand under the desk.

"You may go home right now and pack. The train departs at 2:30." I nod and Mother and Father stand up.

"Thank you, Mr. Ervenwood," Father says formally. Tempest nods and goes back to his work. I take this as our sign to leave.

As we walk down the hallway, I stop in my tracks. "Wait." Father and Mother turn to look at me. "I have to say goodbye to a... friend first."

"We'll meet you outside then," Father says. "Don't be long." I nod and race back to the training room.

As I enter, my eyes rove the room for Thalia. I catch a flash of black hair and race over to the archery.

"Thalia," I whisper, coming up behind her. She whirls around, smacking me in the face with her long, thick hair.

"Sorry 'bout that," she whispers sheepishly.

I smile. "It's fine. Listen, I was just at Tempest's office and he says President Snow wants me to go to the Capitol and perform my song for him and I'm going to leave like, right now but I'll be back in three days." I said that all in one breath and took a huge breath after. Thalia just stares at me.

"You're- not kidding, right?"

"Nope."

Thalia's jaw drops a little. "Uh, ok." She moves in to give me a hug. Surprised, I just stand there, but I eventually get over my shock and wrap my arms around her. "See you in three days," she says, smiling brightly at me.

"See ya."

With that, I walk out of the Academy to where my parents' car is.

On the drive home, Mother speaks up.

"Azra, I just want to say that I'm so proud of you," she says, shifting around to look at me, eyes glistening with unshed tears. I smile softly back at her.

"Thanks Mother."

"I'm sure that if Cato hears your song, he would forgive you for whatever it was that you did wrong," Father adds. My smile grows bigger, and for a second I feel like crying.

"I love you so much, Mother and Father."

"And we love you, Azra."

* * *

This is unbelievable.

I'm on a Capitol train, on my way to the Capitol. I'm here with an escort, Davinia Shine. _They're really treating me as if I'm a tribute,_ I think, smirking. _Other than the fact that I don't have a mentor and I'm not going into the Hunger Games._

"Did you know that this is the exact same train that Cato and Clove were on?" Davinia trills excitedly as she leads me to my bedroom. I sigh and roll my eyes as she keeps rambling on and on and on. "In fact, your bedroom is the one Clove stayed in when they were traveling to the Capitol!" This catches my attention.

Davinia leaves me to my room and I sink into the blankets, holding them up to my face. I couldn't help hoping that Clove's scent was still on the blankets, but they had obviously been washed. My heart sinks in disappointment and I let my head fall back, closing my eyes.

I lay there for a few moments before getting back up. I search the train for Davinia and find her in the dining car.

"Davinia?" I call.

"Yes, darling?"

I hesitate for a split-second. "Can you show me Cato's room?" Her face lights up.

"Of course, my dear," she sings, sashaying daintly over to lead me out. "I can see why you would want to see his room. I had a huge crush on him when I first saw him and I cursed my luck for not getting to be the escort for District Two this year. Many of my friends also like him, I'm not surprised you do. Maybe you'll even get to see him when he wins the Games!"

_Amazing. She doesn't even have the first clue why I'm going to the Capitol in the first place! _I grit my teeth and force myself to nod cheerfully and not punch her lights out.

"Thanks, Davinia, I'll be fine from here," I say, forcing a tight smile on my face. She giggles and leaves, unaware of the daggers I'm shooting at her back.

I enter Cato's room with small, slow steps, gazing around. I pad over to the bed and collapse onto it, clutching the blankets like I did with Clove's. I lie down in the bed and pull the covers over my head, even though it was still the middle of the day.

I slept for the rest of the train ride to the Capitol, as District Two wasn't that far from it. When I woke up, it was dark and the train was pulling into the station. I slowly dragged myself out of Cato's bed, my fingers lingering slightly on the blankets before I went to find Davinia.

"Oh there you are!" she says loudly, and I resist clapping my hands over my ears at her more-high-pitched-than-normal voice. "I was considering coming to look for you, but now there's no need. Just follow me." And with that she prances off the train.

I cannot express how glad I am that there are no Capitol citizens bombarding us with squeals, screams, and requests for autographs like they did for the tributes. Davinia leads me to a sleek black car and gives the driver instructions to get to wherever we're going.

We pulled up at a huge, tall building with small shining lights. Davinia walked confidently into the lobby and I gazed around in wonder as she signed in.

"Come on, Azareah," Davinia calls to me, beckoning with a perfectly manicured hand.

"It's _Azraleah_," I corrected her irritably.

"Yes, yes," Davinia nods absently. We take an elevator up to the 36 floor and Davinia hands me a small card. I take it and stare down at it in confusion. We stop in front of a room.

"Now this is your room," Davinia tells me. "To open the door, You take the card," she takes the card from me, "and slide it in this little slot." She slides the card into the slot and a small green light flashes. She pushes the door open to reveal a humongous room with a king-sized bed, a fancy leather couch, a huge flat-screen TV that took up a whole side of the room.

"In the morning, come down to the lobby at 8:00," Davinia orders. "You will eat breakfast in the hotel and then I will show you to your prep team and they will prepare your body for performance day. My room is this one," she points to the room on the right of mine,"so if you need anything, just knock."

"Thanks, Davinia," I say and she walks back to the elevator, probably to chat with some of her Capitol friends.

I walk into the room and close the door behind me. The room also has a bathroom with a marble counter and an extremely fancy shower with about twenty different buttons.

After I unpack my things, I decide to take a shower, since I don't feel like practicing my song and I don't have any other things to do. I strip and step into the shower. When I turn on the shower, the water is shockingly ice-cold. I turn it hotter and it becomes burning hot. After five minutes, I finally adjust the shower to the perfect temperature.

Now for the buttons. The first button showers me in pink, vanilla-scented bubbles. The second button lathers orange citrus-scented shampoo into my hair. The third pours lime-scented bubbles onto me.

I have fun experimenting with the shower and then put on a light blue blouse and black pants. Grabbing my guitar, I plop down on the bed and begin strumming.

I sing until my voice is sore and my fingers hurt from strumming the guitar. I set the guitar down and fall back onto the bed. I slowly drift off to sleep without even bothering to brush my teeth or turn off the light.

* * *

In the morning, I take the elevator down to the lobby. Surprisingly, I am greeted with the sight of people that are not dressed like crazy neon-colored lunatics. Then again, this is the Capitol, why would anyone from the Capitol need to stay in a hotel?

I grab a plate from the breakfast buffet and gaze wide-eyed at the different food selections. I don't even understand half of what the food labels say, so I just take what looks safe. Scrambled eggs. Bacon. Pancakes.

After filling my plate, my eyes search out Davinia. It really isn't that hard. Just look for the person dressed like a crazy neon-colored lunatic. I take a seat next to her and dig into my food.

"Oh, you're on time!" Davinia exclaims. "It's as if the concept doesn't even exist in the Districts these days. When I was the escort for District Eight, the tributes always HAD to be at least half an hour late..." She keeps blabbering on and I tune out.

When we're done with breakfast, Davinia takes me to meet my prep team and stylist. The one with bright purple hair and spiked eyelashes introduces himself as Griffin. The name of the one with pink skin and green nails and dress is Flavia. Apparently she's the sister of Flavius, part of Catpiss Everdead's prep team. The last one has long neon orange hair and a light blue outfit, nails, and eyelashes. Her name is Kipporah.

It's only been three hours, but it feels like it's been days. All of the hair on my skin is removed. The amazing method to do this is to put an extremely sticky piece of paper on my skin and then ripping it off. They do this until my skin is bright red. Then they rinse it down and move to another area. They do this to my whole body, then wax it down. Then comes Round Two of hair-removing. Then rinsed down again. Then waxed again.

This process is repeated for three long hours. At the end, my skin feels raw and burns like heck.

"She's ready," Flavia says.

Griffin nods in agreement. "Let's take her to Leonis."

Oh boy.

* * *

I'm lying on a cold metal table, waiting for this "Leonis". The cool metal slightly soothes my raw skin and after a while, I relax.

The door opens. I sit up, swinging my legs over the table. Standing in front of me is a creature with spiky neon green hair framing his face, purple skin, and piercings _everywhere_.

"Hello Azraleah," he says softly. I nod curtly. "I'm here to make you even more beautiful than you already are for your performance. Now, please strip." I gaze at him, horrified.

"You have to be kidding," I manage to force out.

"Please Azraleah," Leonis says in that cool, relaxing voice. "Trust me." And for some crazy, inexplicited reason, I did.

* * *

Holy mother of Panem. I look gorgeous.

I'm in a simple but stunning lavender colored silk dress. It's a one shoulder dress with diamonds making up the part that goes over my shoulder, and there is an intricate diamond design wrapping around my waist. The skirt of the dress flows down smoothly to my feet. I'm wearing simple silver heels that barely show since they are concealed by the skirt of the dress.

My makeup is even more gorgeous. I have lavender eye-shadow that matches my dress, and light eye-liner, making my eyes look bigger. I have light lipstick on and my nails are painted the same color as my dress. I have an elegant diamond clip pulling back some of my hair from my face.

"So what do you say?" Leonis asks, gazing proudly at his masterpiece. "Do you like it?"

I barely restrain myself from gushing like an I imagine Sparkles would about how beautiful the dress is and how I look amazing. That's just not how someone from District Two acts. "It's...nice." I manage out. Leonis's face falls and I can't help the guilty tug of my heart.

"Leonis, it's amazing," I say, my voice softer. The green-haired Capitolitian's face brightens visibly and I feel better.

"That's one choice," Leonis mutters, flipping through his clipboard.

"Whoa, wait, WHAT?" I exclaim. "Aren't I wearing this to the performance?"

"Not necessarily," Leonis replies. "It's on option, but I have other outfits for you to try on." Oh brother.

* * *

Now I'm in a blood red dress with small golden swirls on the skirt. The skirt goes down to my knees but it also has a long train that goes down to my feet and trails about a foot on the ground. It's strapless and a fancy gold belt decorates my waist. I'm in golden heels with sparkles on them.

My makeup is blood red lipstick and red eye-shadow. I have light blush on my cheeks and there's some mascara around my eyes. My hair is styled into waves that frame my face beautifully.

Leonis nods approvingly to himself and observes me carefully, taking some notes on his clipboard. "Onto the next," he says when he's done taking notes.

* * *

I have tried on about ten different outfits. Now I've really honestly enjoyed this little game of dress-up, but that kind of stopped after the first five outfits. This dress is sky blue and the skirt skims the ground lightly. It's strapless and has silver designs on the bodice. The skirt starts with sky blue and slowly changes to dark blue at the bottom. I'm wearing gorgeous heels with silver designs.

My lips have been glossed with clear gloss and I have eye-shadow that starts with blue near my eye and changes to dark blue at the end, like my dress. The eye-shadow that is closest to my eye is the exact same color as my irises. My nails are the same color as my eyes and they each have silver swirls on them.

Leonis has done my hair into a waterfall braid and the clip that I wore with the first outfit holds the end of the braid in place. The very ends of my hair is slightly curled and dyed dark blue.

Just like all of the other outfits that Leonis had me try on, this is stunning, but even more than all the rest. I love how I look; the silver and sky blue gives me an innocent touch, but the dark blue at the bottom of my dress and at the ends of my hair give me a dangerous aroma.

"I think this one is the one," I say softly.

"I do too," Leonis replies, scribbling something down on his clipboard. "It's perfect. This one it is. Now let me write this down and then you can take it off." I wait for a few moments while Leonis writes down the outfit description and then I slide carefully out of the dress and heels. Leonis tosses me my clothes and it's a relief to slide on comfortable clothes.

"Your performance is tomorrow at 9:30, get here by 8:00 so I can dress you up," Leonis orders. "It'll be great if you're early, but DO. NOT. BE. LATE." He stresses the last words forcefully and I nod quickly.

"See you tomorrow," he says simply, and I take this as my excuse to leave.

* * *

As I enter my hotel room, I kick off my shoes and launch myself at my feather soft bed. I grab the remote and turn on the television to watch the Games. Catpiss and Lover Boy are maing out in a cave. _Forget it._

I shut off the TV and lie down on the bed. Not for the first time in two weeks, I pray to whoever was up there that they would watch over Clove and Cato.

"Cato," I whisper almost inaudibly. "I love you."

**Since it took so long to get five reviews (which we didn't even get), I'll lighten up. Four reviews for the next chapter! No reviews, no chapter! I'm NOT lightening up this time!**


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